Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink drawing by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. It dates from 1915 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
The composition is catalogued by the Museum of Modern Art as a drawing, though its visual language aligns more closely with collage.
Created in 1915, this untitled work by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti consists of cut‑and‑pasted printed paper combined with ink applied directly on a sheet of paper. The composition is catalogued by the Museum of Modern Art as a drawing, though its visual language aligns more closely with collage. The piece presents a stark, beige background punctuated by a floating black zeppelin, jagged forms that suggest architecture or terrain, and fragmented strips of text that mimic onomatopoeic sounds.
Subject & Meaning
The central motif—a black airship—hovers above an ambiguous landscape of angular silhouettes, evoking the technological optimism and aerial fascination of the early twentieth century. Interspersed textual fragments such as “urrrrraaaah” and “tatraack” function as visual sound effects, blurring the boundary between visual and auditory experience and reflecting Marineti’s interest in dynamism and the sensory overload of modern life.
Technique & Style
Marinetti assembled the work by physically cutting printed paper elements and re‑arranging them on the support, then reinforcing the collage with ink drawn directly onto the surface. This method produces a layered, tactile quality that emphasizes the materiality of the printed media. The stark monochrome palette and abrupt juxtapositions align the piece with Futurist aesthetics, emphasizing speed, mechanization, and fragmented perception.
History & Provenance
The untitled collage entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it is listed among the institution’s holdings of early twentieth‑century avant‑garde works. Its acquisition reflects MoMA’s broader effort to document the experimental practices of Futurist artists and to preserve examples of early mixed‑media experimentation that prefigure later collage and assemblage movements.
Artist & collection
Artist
Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement.
